Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) Shares Up 0.5%

Chesapeake Energy Co. (NASDAQ:CHK) shares shot up 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $89.34 and last traded at $89.01. 196,807 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,023,756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CHK shares. Benchmark reduced their target price on Chesapeake Energy from $107.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Chesapeake Energy from $118.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Chesapeake Energy in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Chesapeake Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.73.

Chesapeake Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a PE ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.14.

Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.89. Chesapeake Energy had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chesapeake Energy Co. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.575 dividend. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Chesapeake Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Chesapeake Energy by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Chesapeake Energy by 90.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 97.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana.